Belclare

- polled, white in colour with a good fleece, very sound feet, high resistance to worm infestation and low mastitis problems.

- Ewes are docile, have excellent mothering ability with a minimum of lambing difficulty and are capable of rearing three lambs if given adequate feed during lactation

- Belclare rams are ideal for use on ewe lambs. The lambs are easily lambed, hardy, vigerous, agressive suckers, and will not be rejected easily

*** On Lyons!!!

Beltex

- double-muscled highquarters, coupled with fine bones which ensures maximum killing-out percentage

- lambs are born with ease and are thrifty

- carcass with well-fleshed legs, good eye muscle, and a long loin

- meat, medium wool

- Distribution: Europe, United Kingdom, North American

Black Face Mountain

- noted for mothering ability, hardiness, milk traits and resistance to scour. When crossed with a terminal sire such as Suffolk/Texel they are capable of producing lambs that reach French weights quickly

- produce highly prolific ewes that are compact and easily maintained

*** On Lyons!!!

Bleu du Maine

-  large breed

- no wool on its head or legs

- face is dark gray or blue color

- Both sexes are polled

- higher litter size and age of sexual maturity than texel

- average daily gain, carcass leanness, milk yield, and lambing interval are similar to the Texel, but the Blue du Maine are lighter muscled

- meat, medium wool

- Europe, United Kingdom

Blue Face Leicester

- selected for the blue face (white hairs on black skin)

- finer fleeces

- developed as a sire of high quality crossbred ewes

- crossbred progeny of the Bluefaced Leicester is the Mule, the ewe famous throughout the U.K. as the best commercial breeding ewe on the market

- long wool, dual-purpose

- United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, North America

*** On Lyons!!!

Border Leicester

- moderately prolific, good milkers, and mothers

- long-stapled, lustrous, coarse wool that is much in demand by hand spinners

- long wool, dual-purpose

- Worldwide

*** On Lyons!!!

Charollais

- medium sized, heavy sheep, with a long loin and well muscled hindquarters

-clean head is pinkish grey

- wool is fine to medium and dense

- primarily as a terminal sire to increase the muscling and growth rate of lambs

- lambs are lean and heavily muscled, especially in the loin and hindquarters. - Dressing percentage is above average.

- medium wool, meat

- Europe, United Kingdom, North America

*** On Lyons!!!

Cheviot

- white faced

- dual purpose for meat and wool

- hardy mountain breed

- very alert with good carriage

*** On Lyons!!!

Dorset

- prolific, heavy milkers that produce lambs with moderate growth and maturity that yield heavy muscled carcasses

- best known for their ability to produce a lamb crop any time during the year

- medium wool, meat

- Worldwide

*** On Lyons!!!

Finnish Landrace

- hardy, will lamb on an accelerated lambing program, have strong maternal instincts, and are highly prolific. Lambs are noted for their high livability.

- have become valued for their soft fleeces of medium wool

- medium wool, dual-purpose, short-tailed, prolific

- worldwide

Galway

- large, polled white faced 

- bob of wool on head and wool on legs

- outer lips are dark colored and dark spots on ears

- primarily raised for meat

Hampshire Downs

-  large breed, with black faces and legs and wool on the legs and head

- fast growth rate and superior carcass merit make them a popular choice to sire crossbred market lambs

- meat, medium wool, down

- Worldwide

Rouge de L'Ouest

- medium sized breed of excellent conformation without excessive bone

- hornless, can vary from pink to deep red and is covered with fine hair

- strong and deep through the chest with good length in back and loin, but it is the exceptional hind quarters and muscling that are immediately recognized as the powerhouse of the Rouge

- primarily for market lamb production, though was originally kept as a dairy sheep to produce Camembert cheese

- meat, medium wool

- United Kingdom, Europe

Southdowns

- one of the oldest sheep breeds, having contributed to the foundation stock of all other down breeds: Suffolk, Hampshire, and Oxford

- adapt well to intensive management, pass their superb conformation onto their offspring, and can thrive and maintain flesh where many other breeds would virtually starve

- medium wool, meat

- Worldwide

Suffolk

-  large, comparatively heavy meat breed of sheep

- distinctive all-black head and legs that are free of wool

- lambs grow faster than any other breed and yield heavy, high cutability carcasses of the type demanded by today's health conscience consumers.

- Rams are for use as terminal sires, used in cross breeding for early prime lamb production

- wool is of the fine Downs type and measures 24 to 26 micron in fiber diameter

- Fertility levels are high

- medium wool, meat

- Australia, New Zealand

*** On Lyons!!!

Texel

- remarkable muscle development and leanness

- sired lambs show an advantage of one full leg score in breed comparisons and less total carcass fat—especially seam fat

- medium wool, meat

- Worldwide

*** On Lyons!!!

Vendeen

- noted for the production of high quality lamb carcasses

- face and legs are covered with dark brown to gray hair

- Both sexes are polled

- Comparisons in performance between the Vendéen and the Texel showed the Vendéen having larger litter size, older at sexual maturity, and a longer lambing interval. The two breeds are relatively equal in muscularity. The Vendéen exhibited a lower wool yield, daily gain, carcass leanness, and milk yield.

- meat, medium wool

- United Kingdom, Europe

Mayo Mule and Grey Faced Leicester

- Mayo Mule is a cross between the Scottish Blackface and the Blue-faced Leicester whilst the Grey face is a cross between the Scottish Blackface and the Border Leicester. Both crosses are renowned for their qualities including:

• Hardiness
• Mothering Ability
• Milkiness
• Ease of care at lambing
• Prolifacy - 1.6 to 1.7 lambs reared per ewe to the ram

*** On Lyons!!!